The present invention generally relates to devices for electronically reading an object. More particularly, the present invention relates to a combined barcode scanner and radio frequency identification (RFID) reader using novel field interpretation arrays.
It is well known in the field to place identification tags employing barcodes and/or RFID circuits on objects so that the objects can be more easily identified. For example, a barcode tag could be scanned by a light source and the varying intensity of the reflected light from the barcode produces a signal relating to the information encoded in the barcode. Similarly, an RFID tag can be read by a radio frequency (RF) signal and transmit a coded RF signal back to the reader corresponding to information about the object.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,264,106 and 5,382,784 disclose electronic circuits and devices for the combined scanning of barcodes and reading of RFID tags. U.S. Pat. No. 5,382,784 deals with the basic problem of combining a barcode scanner and an RFID reader in a single device and making an output signal from the RFID reader compatible with an output signal from the barcode scanner. U.S. Pat. No. 6,264,106 addresses the problem of adding an RFID reader to an existing barcode scanner. U.S. Pat. No. 6,264,106 employs two different processing circuits, one each for the barcode scanner and the RFID circuit.
When barcode and RFID readers scan their respective tags, they take in and pass on the data as a single line of information, e.g., “JohnSmith25JonesAvButteMT32150”. This line translates as “name: John Smith street: 25 Jones Av City: Butte state: Mont. zip: 32150”. Such data lines are becoming increasingly more detailed, particularly for RFID tags. There is a need for end users to have this data broken down into interpretation fields, both as a convenience to save time re inputting the data by hand or with key strokes into forms. More importantly, breaking this data down into interpretation fields will reduce error risk by eliminating the steps of manual entry required by the current state of the art.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide a device that includes both a barcode scanner and an RFID reader which scans data from available tags and then inputs it into the host computer as if it were typed on a keyboard.